When looking for local culture, no one has to look any further than the Humboldt & District Gallery. To kick off their latest exhibit, "a local perspective with Toni Ambrose and Sandy Christensen," the gallery had both artists come in and speak about their work last Wednesday evening.
First to speak was Ambrose, who had bright, colourful paintings depicting flowers of all types on display. Following her was Christensen, whose clay sculptures of people posed in various positions sat on pedestals along the wall.
"I work in acrylics and I like a lot of colour, lights, and darks," said Ambrose, who was the first to speak. "I've been painting for about 18 years, but I hadn't done it for a long time, probably since college."
Ambrose's work contains vibrant colour and she says her inspiration often comes from the photos she takes of her garden. Now though, she admits she's attempting to progress to a different style and subject matter.
"I'm trying to go a little more abstract with my work, but it's slow," she said. "I was hoping to do portraitures and that's scaring me because I haven't done them for a long time. I don't know how to start."
On the flip side, people portrayals are the exact sort of work Christensen has thrown herself into. She began with cartoon-like sculptures of people, but as she started doing more commissions, her work became more realistic.
"What I really like to do is make the faces, so I'll spend a good half of the time making the head and the rest of the body gets put together a whole lot quicker," she said. "My clay isn't painted on the outside, I like the natural colour. When I think of farmers, I think of the browns and the fall colours."
Christensen finds her muse in the Saskatchewan people around her. Simply by observing the way people interact in this province is what has inspired many of her creations.
The exhibit will be on display in the gallery until June 24.
